December 4, 2025
ProtFiSIG Writing Exercise: Protocol Fiction from Non-Fiction Sources
Participants: suspencer_nit, sachbenny, thewanderingeditor, drevius., timber1997
The ProtFiSIG group conducted a protocol fiction writing exercise where participants selected either a historical text on papal gambling in sixteenth-century Italy or the U.S. Antarctic Program Field Manual, then combined their choice with a science fiction theme. The session revealed that while non-fiction protocols offer rich material for speculative stories—such as underground bookie networks between Antarctic enclaves or early mind-backup technologies—writers struggled to develop original narratives within the 30-minute timeframe. The primary challenge identified was that maintaining focus on realistic protocol details often sacrificed character depth and emotional resonance, pushing writers toward familiar sci-fi tropes. Participants discussed specific examples, including a scenario where survival ethics in extreme conditions override consent and belief systems, and an alternative framing of space exploration centered on collaboration rather than competition.
- The papal conclave gambling scenario sparked creative interest around bishops covertly messaging bookies, demonstrating how historical protocols can generate compelling speculative narratives.
- Participants identified a fundamental tension in the exercise: focusing on protocols tends to compete with character development, making it difficult to avoid common sci-fi tropes within 30-minute constraints.
- The concept of 'papabile' (papal-eligible) connected to 'clubbable' (socially suitable), highlighting how language itself can reveal protocol-adjacent social hierarchies ripe for fictional exploration.
- One proposed utopic scenario pivoted the space-race concept away from competition toward collaboration: the first species to space is whichever enclave successfully contacted 10,000 humans without conflict.